VO fenders vs. Honjo fenders?

[Lungimsam]

Which is better, and why? Diffs?

I have Honjos (~150$) on my Bleriot, but 150$ is a lot of money, compared to ~67$ for VO's, if I ever want to replace the SKS on my Sam with metal fenders.

I have seen a famous blogger (not Grant)  sort of, but not so obviously, refer to VO stuff as "budget", but is that really true? Or is VO stuff good and pretty reliable for long term and not easy to fail?

[Ron Mc]

Honjos are thinner making them somewhat lighter.  

VO fenders are made by Tanaka.  

I'd say they're all good.  

[Frank Brose]

I have VO's on my Rawland and don't have a problem with them. I wouldn't hesitate to buy anothe pair.

[Ron Mc]

VO kits for both Honjo and VO (Tanaka) come pre-drilled.  

The first set I installed were 36mm Honjos that VO was closing out for $65, limited to 28mm tires.  

After doing it once, the second set I installed, I preferred going the Jitensha route of fenders with no pre-drilling so I could put all the holes where I wanted them, and use the exact hardware I chose.  

[Brian Campbell]

I have the VO's on my Hilsen, which replaced a narrower set of Honjo's. I did think the Honjos seemed to be higher quality(subjective) and they seemed to be easier to install. One thing I would reccomend with either is using the Berthoud stays to mount them. I think they work better and they are lighter, by a small margin.

[ascpgh]

I have both. Honjos on my Rambouillet, VO Zeppelins on my commuter and that's been a perfect distribution based on each's particulars.

Honjos may not be the best for a first time installation unless you are careful, useful with your tools and have finished all your other chores (I got mine undrilled, with all the parts from a list member). Used Jan Heine's article in BQ as my instructions. Thin, light and quiet. Pricey, unless sourced as I did, but really do have a good visual result.

The hammered pattern has a small crease on the rear where a plastic-go-faster goober rear ended me with a brake/shifter at a stoplight downtown (head aero-tucked and intention to run the light to preserve a Strava segment record?). Her bike rendered inoperable as a result. Honjo vs. brifter? Fender won that time not needing adjustment to ride on.

VOs came with holes drilled, parts and instructions. After having learned on the Honjos, these went quickly. I did redrill the front one to rotate more fender behind the wheel so I didn't need a foot long flap for best spray protection. Thicker metal, bigger stays, a bit less coverage length than comparable Honjos, but quiet and half the price. Have taken the bashing of year round commuting, parking in racks and a couple of spills with aplomb and no visible damage. Whatever negatives they may have are lost in their performance of function. 

Honjos if you want light, longer, precise placement of that coverage, don't mind the cost for more refined aesthetic and feel handy enough after reading the BQ article. 

VO if the utter weight is less of a concern, having them prepped for your installation is attractive, and don't mind the difference in length to the comparable product. You still have to install them. Even if you intend to just take them to a bike shop, don't. 

Read how to and install your fenders yourself. You will have more acuity of the details, appreciation of the fender line and exactitude of the execution than a shop mechanic would and every time you ride this fact will revisit and torture your soul. This applies unless you patronize a very informed, Bob-like shop that can swim out of the mainstream and remain fiscally pertinent while acquiring knowledge and skill in bizarre low frequency subjects like low trail, hub generators, fenders, bags and racks, etc. 

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

[Steve Palincsar]

Some Honjos come pre-drilled, others have not. Some Honjos have even
come with a flat area already made for under the fork crown. I have
several sets of Honjos purchased from various sources over the past 9 or
10 years, and one set of VO purchased just prior to last Christmas. I
think my VO are made of thinner material than my Honjos, but I wouldn't
swear to it or claim that this is true of all VO vs Honjo fenders. One
thing I think is true is that the folded under edge under the fender,
where you can't see it, is far more nicely finished with the Honjos, all
of them, than with the VO. At one time, VO fenders used to come with
only one draw bolt, but that's changed now - a significant improvement
because a single draw bolt mount is rather prone to rattling. VO
fenders are much cheaper, especially when you buy them during the
pre-Christmas sale, as I did.

[Patrick Moore]

Jitensha has complete instructions for Honjos: http://www.jitensha.com/eng/honjinstl.html

(They also have some geared hubs, and some nice old shoes if you wear 37-41, on remainder.)

Andy: what happened to the other rider's CF bike, to make it inoperable? And you came away with a slight dent in the fender?

FWIW, the once or twice I've used VOs, the coverage was very complete -- I didn't even need a mud flap in front, as the fender came down to 3" or so from the ground -- this a 700C X 35 fender on a 700C X 29 tire.

[Ian Wilder]

I have no experience with Honjos (other than ogling them from afar), but have installed VO's on a number of my own bikes and friend's bikes. I would say that for the price, VO's are great looking and pretty darn easy to install. It may just be my experience, but I've had an easier time installing VO's than SKS fenders. If you want the bling factor or a specific custom fit, go for the Honjos, but you really aren't missing out on much by going with the VO's. I have never been disappointed with their looks, install or functionality.  I'm not sure if I'd ever really need to spend the extra on the Honjos unless I had some cash and decided I wanted to support them on principle of their craftsmanship and tradition.

RE: "budget" - I would say that some VO parts can be a little "budget" feeling or rather are more affordable compared to vintage or MUSA gear, BUT the fenders are some of their best and well loved products. (I'm in no way maligning VO, I had a Long Haul Trucker with mostly VO bits, looked beautiful, no failures, etc.). Just my two cents!

Cheers,

Ian

On Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 7:21:06 PM UTC-4, Lungimsam wrote:

[Philip Kim]

I've had SKS and VO fenders. My next set of fender is going back to VO. Really nice fenders for the price, and easy to install. Never installed metal fenders before VO's, and I installed within like 30 minutes?

Honjo has more sizing options.

On Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 7:21:06 PM UTC-4, Lungimsam wrote:

[ascpgh]

Patrick, She veered to the left when realizing I was stopping, her right brifter lever glancing the fender left of center, leaving a 3" crease in the aluminum. Something in her lever let go from that and no longer worked as new. 

I installed my 40mm VO fenders rotated an additional 3" rearward to cover more wheel since I'm in rain and wetness often. My flap goes down pretty low to keep the spray off feet and drivetrain. Foil tape over the pre-drilled hole is fine, but I do note the forward discharge from the wheel getting me wet more in this configuration ue to the shorter forward projection. 

My lesson from that is that only the rolled metal can structurally reach forward and give cover from forward wheel spray, any shortage of length on the rear can be managed with an added flap, as long as a nominal amount of fender is back there. The flap cannot be hanging on the rear of the wheel. 

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

[Paul G]

Boy, if her brifter was able to hit your rear fender, she must have had her bars slammed lower than low!

[Lungimsam]

The right brifter hit the left side of the fender though she veered left?

[Mark in Beacon]

CSI: The Fender Dent Files

[ascpgh]

The crease was to the left of the center of the fender. 

Andy Cheatham 

Pittsburgh

On Wednesday, June 15, 2016 at 8:22:24 PM UTC-4, Lungimsam wrote:

[Esteban]

Honjos. Totally worth it for the quality and to have something made in Japan. Skip several lunches out (bring a sandwich) and there's the difference.

Esteban
San Diego, Calif.

[Brian Campbell]

I say buy the VO fenders but use the money saved to buy the Berthoud  mounting stays from Ben's cycle. The weigh less (not much), have a lower profile on the out side of the fender (less chance for toe overlap) and to my eye look less obtrusive than VO or Honjo mounting hardware. The Honjo fenders are nicer but not by some order of magnitude to justify close to double the price.

[Anton Tutter]

Brian nailed it. VO fenders themselves are great, every bit as high quality as Honjos, but the Berthoud stays are superior for the reasons Brian mentioned. Just make sure you purchase stays in the size that's appropriate for the width of your fenders.

For what it's worth, the very expensive Honjo fenders on my Jeff Lyon L'Avecaise had some serious symmetry problems from the factory and required a lot of manipulation to install correctly. One issue was that they had twist, and the other is that the scalloped ends were not shaped symmetrically. The curvature of the scallop on the left side of the fender did not match that of the other side. But I've not experienced a defective VO fender thus far, and I've installed at least a dozen sets of them on my own and other peoples' bikes. 

One thing that I do appreciate on Honjo fenders is the rounded rolled edge, which allows you to easily snake a taillight wire. Most VO fenders have a crimped edge which can not fit a wire.

Anton

velolumino.com

[masmojo]

I don't have the VO fenders, but by my experience everything I've gotten from VO has been over the top great & probably better, then it needs to be. I plan on getting Zepplins fir at least 1 26" wheeled bike in the near future.

I have wooden fenders on 2 bikes & Honjos on my Rawland; I picked up the Honjos from VO some years ago on clearance, no problems mounting them, but last this last year I shortened the rear one by about 4", I frequently have to pop the bike up on the back wheel to maneuver it through tight spaces & the rear fender would always drag on the ground. I cut it off and then got a hammer & small anvil and worked the cut edge similar to how it had been finished before. Like it much better now, an added bonus is it's easier to get the wheel in & out now.

[Andrew Patteson]

If I may ask:  then why not just get the Berthoud fenders instead?  Are they inferior in some way?

Thanks,
Andrew in SLC

On Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 8:33:46 AM UTC-6, Anton Tutter wrote:

 the Berthoud stays are superior for the reasons Brian mentioned.

[Anton Tutter]

Berthoud doesn't make aluminum fenders, only stainless steel. So they're heavier.

Anton

[Lungimsam]

I dont think they make hammered fenders either.

[Scott Henry]

I will also toss out the option of Handsome Cycles MudButler Fenders
http://handsomecycles.com/products/silver-fenders

Black or silver, priced compairable to Velo Orange too.   Ive used them and they are long and easy to mount.

I've got a bike in the stand right now that needs some fenders, the current 42mm tires aren't making fender mounting too easy.  

Scott

On Thu, Jun 16, 2016 at 4:49 PM, Lungimsam <john1...@gmail.com> wrote:

I dont think they make hammered fenders either.

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[Minh]

For those that have experience with both, some input please?  I've got a set of 700c Honjos on the shelf i picked up a few months ago (closeout, couldn't resist).  My plan was to replace the existing VOs on my Hillborne.  At the moment i'm having a hard time rationalizing the switch, the only meaningful reason i can think of is that my VOs use the old bolts so toe-overlap is a real problem for me on the front.  But other than that i'm pretty happy with them, i've dialed in the install, they don't rattle, the super long mudflaps that catch every speedbump don't affect them, i've beat them up and they've held up fine.  They're stainless steel so a bit heavier but the weight is not a huge concern for me, and i'm thinking of getting one of Anton's fender light mounts so SS may be better than AL in that case?  

Anyone else in a similar situation?  what made you finally switch them out?  

Oh and i am going from fluted fenders (VO) to hammered (Honjo) and i have to say the hammered look pretty boss....maybe that's a good enough reason.